Mnemic – Sons Of The System (2010)

Opening the year 2010, we already have one album that immediately was written down in our album of the year list. This is something that has not happened quite often, but with Mnemic’s “Sons Of The System” we are astonished in terms of the quality of this release.

Having heard Mnemic’s transformation over the years, this album took us by surprise, since it’s more melodic and straight forward. While the band maintains some of their signature trademarks they are opening up to a whole new world thanks to the vocal abilities of Guillaume Bideau.

“Sons Of The System” feature 11 songs that will blow you away. Since the first song, titled like the album itself, you will hear that the wait for this album was well worth it. While the intricate complexity of the music it self from “Passenger” is not there, you can still see a more straight forward and better layered sound that takes more than a few listens to fully digest.

The traditional ‘grooviness’ of Mnemic’s music leads the way in most of the songs, but in a more straight forward manner, like a un-complicated Meshuggah. The vocals fit very well in this album and Guillaume does a better job than on “Passenger”, in this album he sounds less restricted and freer to experiment with different styles and sounds, adding plenty of clean vocals to the mix.

The music is a prefect palette of very diverse elements ranging from Industrial Metal, Groove Metal, and some Progressive Metal. The band sounds less complicated than in previous releases but still have a very interesting and diverse layering of elements, making this album a true Mnemic release. The riffing in this release is very powerful and diverse, something that gives this album a richer listening experience.

Drumming wise, this release is top notch and a little bit less complex than on “Passenger” but more accessible to the majority of the listeners. Paired with the great production behind this album, all elements sounds perfectly balanced in a destructive harmony.

“Sons Of The System” has show us that Mnemic is back with a very good album, that will please old fans and surely get them hordes of new ones. We hope the band keeps up the good work and dominates the world with a tour showcasing their unparalleled abilities at making music.

Release: January 26th, 2010

Country: Denmark